


The Ultimatum

by unofficialfansie



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Genderbending, Happy Ending, Period-Typical Sexism, Post-Canon, Romance, Slow Burn, Wedding Planning, Weddings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-19 06:57:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22273606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unofficialfansie/pseuds/unofficialfansie
Summary: "...I’ve been too lenient with you. Indulging your every whim, letting you learn how to operate a printing press, agreeing to send you off to college… it only harmed you, in the end.”“What are you talking about?” Darcy asked incredulously, but Mr. Reid held up his hand to silence her protestations.“I know what I have to say will hurt you, but I hope you can come to understand that I’m doing this for your own good. And I’m sorry to be telling you this now, at the last minute, but I truly didn’t fully come to this decision until now.” He sighed and shook his head, looking down at his desk. “I’m withdrawing you from Radcliffe.”Darcy's father gives her a choice- find a husband in one year or be disowned. The choice is clear.(Featuring a female Darcy because I read the Newsies production booklet and saw Darcy listed as a gender-neutral role and my imagination ran away with itself.)
Relationships: Bill Hearst & Darcy Reid, Bill Hearst/Darcy Reid, Jack Kelly/Katherine Plumber, Katherine Plumber Pulitzer & Darcy Reid
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	The Ultimatum

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I still exist!
> 
> Currently, I'm trying to get back into the Newsies fandom, and writing a long romance fic partly as an excuse to geek out over turn-of-the-century weddings seems like the perfect way to do that.
> 
> Enjoy!

_ Late August 1899 _

_ Skirts, shoes, stockings… what am I missing? _

“Here’s your other petticoat, Miss. It’s been freshly starched and ironed.”

Darcy smiled gratefully at the young woman who had just entered her room, accepting the bundle of white linen into her arms. “Thank you, Maggie. I almost forgot it.”

Maggie bobbed a curtsy. “No trouble, Miss.” She made to leave but stopped in the doorway. “Oh! Your father asked to see you in his study. He said it was urgent.”

Darcy frowned and adjusted her glasses, a nervous habit. “Thank you, Maggie. I’ll go straight away.”

Maggie dipped her head, and then she was gone. Darcy’s heart began to beat faster, but she took a deep breath and forced herself to remain level-headed. Her father probably just wanted to congratulate her one more time before she left for school in the morning.

**\---**

The heavy door creaked behind Darcy as she stepped into her father’s study, the plush carpet under her feet soaking up the sound of her footsteps. She cleared her throat and pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. “You said you wanted to see me, father?”

Whitelaw Reid, the owner of the New York Tribune, was almost lost in a plume of after-dinner cigar smoke as he sat behind his desk. He looked up at Darcy, and her heart began to race at the stern expression he wore. “Ah. Yes, I did. There’s something I have to tell you.”

“What is it?”

Mr. Reid set his cigar down on a silver ashtray and leaned forward in his chair, steepling his hands underneath his chin. “I love you very much, my darling. And I want only what is best for you. Which is why I was so… concerned about your little display earlier this month.”

Darcy nodded. Her father was talking about her, Bill, and Katherine’s decision to help the newsboys print a paper in support of the strike at the beginning of August- he had lectured her repeatedly since then about how inappropriate it was for the heiress to a newspaper owner to openly oppose another one. Especially one as powerful as Joseph Pulitzer. For her part, Darcy had been sorry to cause her family harm, but she had no regrets about the part she played in the strike.

“It made me realize that I’ve been too lenient with you. Indulging your every whim, letting you learn how to operate a printing press, agreeing to send you off to college… it only harmed you, in the end.”

“What are you talking about?” Darcy asked incredulously, but Mr. Reid held up his hand to silence her protestations.

“I know what I have to say will hurt you, but I hope you can come to understand that I’m doing this for your own good. And I’m sorry to be telling you this now, at the last minute, but I truly didn’t fully come to this decision until now.” He sighed and shook his head, looking down at his desk. “I’m withdrawing you from Radcliffe.”

Darcy felt as though she’d be punched in the stomach. “Wh- what?! Withdrawn from… but father, Radcliffe’s my dream! I’ve always wanted to go there, you were so proud when I got in!”

“In truth, I had doubts about it from the beginning, as did your mother. This summer confirmed what we feared- you’ve become too headstrong, too foolish, too rebellious. Going to college would only add to that volatile mixture, I’m afraid.”

The ground had disappeared from under Darcy’s feet and she was falling, falling into blackness, down a rabbit hole of nameless emotions. She didn’t trust herself to speak without coming apart. This couldn’t be happening.

“The good news is, your mother has plans for you!” Mr. Reid finally met Darcy’s gaze, looking entirely too cheery for a moment as tragic as this. “You are to be a darling of society this year. There are already invitations to dozens of parties coming in, and she’s thinking about ordering a whole new wardrobe for you. Isn’t that exciting? With luck and a little hard work, you’ll be married by next year!”

The part about marriage got Darcy’s attention. “Married? No, no, no. Father… I can’t! You’re not being fair! I’m going to Radcliffe, it’s been decided!”

“I’ve just told you, I’ve revoked my permission and withdrawn you from the school. But you see, you’ll have so many more opportunities this way! This is just what your mother and I want for you.”

Something about his smug happiness made Darcy’s blood boil. She loved her father, and she was a naturally quiet and contemplative person, but she suddenly wanted nothing more than to march over to his desk and smack the grin off his face. “I won’t do it!” she yelled. “You can’t make me! I’ll reapply to Radcliffe, and work all year to have enough money to go. I won’t marry, and I won’t be a ‘darling of society’!”

“Then you may say your goodbyes to your mother and sister!” Mr. Reid snapped back. His expression had lost all semblance of good humor. He leaned closer to Darcy with a face like thunder. “You will stay here, in New York, you will be a model lady of society, and you will be married by this time next year or you will no longer be welcome in this house,” he growled. “Is that understood?”

Tears poked at the back of Darcy’s eyes, and whatever courage she may have momentarily had died as she understood that her father wouldn’t change his mind. She nodded mutely.

“Good.” Mr. Reid relaxed slightly and sat back in his chair. “Go and tell your mother the good news, then.”

Darcy nodded again, backing away from her father slowly. She stepped into the hallway and paused for a moment, feeling completely numb. The clock on the wall ticked. The sound of her sister playing the piano in the parlor floated nearby. Someone closed a door.

It was all too much.

Darcy’s chest heaved and she put a hand to her mouth to stifle a sob, tripping over her skirts as she began to run back to her room. She passed Maggie in the hallway, arms full of boxes, and she saw Maggie’s expression morph from one of startled surprise to one of concern, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She slammed the door to her room shut behind her, jumped onto her bed, and began to sob.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, as much as I love Darcy and Bill being super classy gay husbands, I really wanted to explore a female version of Darcy. I hope you guys like her as much as I do by the end of this.
> 
> I should also really make a point to say that I have no reason to believe that the real Whitelaw Reid (Darcy's father) was this much of an asshole in real life, he's just being difficult for plot reasons.
> 
> Please leave comments! Or kudos! Or, heck, both if you're feeling a little racy!


End file.
